Thursday, July 17, 2008

Letting go of the past--Facing the future

I nearly failed Home Ec in junior high school. I had to make a pillow out of felt: it was black, purple, and yellow and shaped like a surfboard with a big footprint on it. Very OP. Very west coast. And I could not make the damn thing. My grandma ended up finishing it for me! (Shhhh... don't tell)

A few years after that, I embraced my heritage and learned how to sew. And now, I'm proud to say, I can make lots of stuff ... it's just too bad that I don't do it very often! There's only so much time in the day. And, to be honest, having the Etsy shop and making things that just sit there has been a little heartbreaking. I went through this years ago when I had a small (small as in just me) purse business and would spend hours making one-of-a-kind creations out of velvet and trims and tassels, and some ... lady ... would come to my table, pick it up, and say "I could get something cheaper at W*lM**t." Ugh. To leave all that behind, we've slowly been closing up shop. I haven't made anything for the shop in months and months, and I haven't made anything for myself since last year. Until this week.



A friend gave me a t-shirt with a decal of Sock Puppet Theatre (don't know about them? YouTube it--if you love Doctor Who, you'll totally get the joke!). The shirt was way too small, though, but there was no way I'd get rid of it. So the other day I took it with me to the fabric store with the idea of making a bag. One thing led to another and I found the perfect pair of plaid wool shorts at the thrift store for $2. Making all of those purses over the years came in very handy as I was able to make this bag without a pattern. I just made it up as I went along! It's lined in green & white flannel with two pockets inside. I even kept one of the pants pockets along the seam on one side! I think the whole thing cost around $5. And it cracks me up every time I look at it :)

I'm pretty proud of myself. Makes me want to find that Home Ec teacher and show her that, yes, I did figure it out!
Tiffani

3 comments:

Kathy-Catnip Studio said...

Your purse is hilarious AND beautiful! Don't give up on your lovely shop, sincerely, Kathy

Cindy@Cutepinkstuff said...

SEW cute! It makes me smile, too! You get an A+ if I were your Home Ec teacher!

Lynn said...

And so you should be proud of yourself :) You did a great job.
I understand how you feel when there are people out there that just do not appreciate the value in a handmade item, we just have to hope that the right person comes along who will really treasure something we create.